Ideas for Educators - Idea Blog

For a Twist on Cup Stacking, Try Idea Stacking!

1/25/2015

Plastic party cups can be reused for an engaging activity for students of all ages. Because you can write on the outside of these cups with the Vis a Vis, water-based markers, students can write on them and then wash them clean for the next use.

Over the years I have had students stack everything from word families (elementary school) to common items that contain acid (high school.) Other ideas include:

·      Characteristics of a time period in history
·      Impressionist artists
·      Different types of trees
·      Prime numbers

In the photo above, right, teachers at a workshop I was facilitating created a cup pyramid of examples of specially designed instruction (SDI) for the co-taught classroom. Groups competed against each other to see who could think of the most ideas and build the tallest pyramid.

12+ Vocabulary Strategies

1/19/2015

Thanks to the generosity of the Maine Department of Education, I can make my recent webinar, Differentiated Vocabulary Strategies, available to teachers everywhere! Sprinkled throughout the webinar are research tidbits and more than a dozen strategies for insuring that students increase the breadth and depth of their vocabulary. Click here to listen! (Join in at the 3m20s point)

AR your Jeopardy games this fun?

1/11/2015

The holidays provided me some much needed time to play with Augmented Reality! In addition to exploring several AR apps such as Anatomy 4D (upper grades and secondary) and The Tortoise and the Hare (elementary), I also created some AR experiences using Aurasma. Here’s one of the ideas I developed for classroom instruction.

Many teachers use Jeopardy games to review for a unit test. Why not add some Augmented Reality to the experience? I used a Daily Double image as my trigger image.

Then I created a short video related to the science content and made it my overlay. Now, if a team picks the Daily Double, they can watch the video clip before answering.

4 Card Vocabulary Concentration

1/2/2015

Ready to mix things up a bit for the New Year? Try this 4 Card Concentration strategy for practicing vocabulary.

All you need for this strategy are 4 index cards per word. If you want to make it a bit easier, use a different color for each of the four tasks, as seen in the photo. Have the students create cards for their essential vocabulary terms.

1.     Word (green)
2.     Definition (yellow)
3.     Synonym (orange)
4.     Illustration (pink)

After creating cards for each term, mix them up and place them on the floor (face up – easier, or face down – harder.) Match the cards, two at a time. Any two of the four can be a match, i.e., definition and illustration. Try it yourself with these 7th grade science cards in the photo!

Gift Wrap Writing

12/10/2014

Here's a post from the past that I like to share again each year at this time.

‘Tis the season…to rip paper off of gifts! If that happens in your home, be sure to save as many scraps of paper as you can. Cut them into small pieces (about 4x4). Hand them out to students in the New Year and provide them with a writing prompt meant to elicit a brief response. After students have written their response, direct them to fold the paper up as if it was a gift, and exchange it with a peer.

Such a simple way to add some novelty, emphasize that sharing ideas is similar to gift giving, and reuse wrapping paper!

Sling Note

12/1/2014

Sling Note is one of my favorite note taking apps, especially when students are doing research. If you open this app in landscape mode, the iPad screen splits in half. The left side is a web enabled screen that allows the user to open any website. The right side of the screen is a blank board for note taking. For students who have difficulty with tracking or far point copying, it is so convenient to have the split screen on an iPad

Using your finger, you can clip text or visuals from the web page and drag them over to the note side. The best part for kids is that the cutting can be any shape. For example, I can cut around an animal, following its outline exactly, and then drag it to my notes. Once it is in my notes, I can double tap the clip, it flips around and shows the url on the back. So helpful for students who struggle with capturing their sources!

Like many other note taking apps, the user can label pictures, type, insert web links and photos, draw, etc. At $2.99 it is well worth the price.

Do you need to have a courageous conversation?

11/19/2014

If you are a spouse, friend or parent, chances are pretty good that you have had to engage in a courageous conversation at some point. Courageous conversations are those ones that make your stomach knot, that feel uncomfortable, but you realize are necessary for the health of your relationship.

In school settings, I find that many teachers are afflicted with CAS - Conflict Avoidance Syndrome. They avoid courageous conversations, often at huge costs to their students.

Jennifer Abrams book, "Having Hard Conversations," is filled with dozens of very specific ideas for preparing for and engaging in these tough conversations. She writes

"While we want to do what is right, we also want to have everything stay OK between us and the other person."

These competing commitments usually lead to inaction. She suggests asking ourselves

"What is stopping me from having this hard conversation?"

Depending on your answer, Abrams offers tips. My favorite is

"Give yourself a time limit for planning the conversation and a deadline for having it. Don't allow yourself to make the hard conversation more important than it needs to be."

Check out Having Hard Conversations for more words of wisdom and then go have that conversation you've been avoiding!

Flipped Instruction with ThingLink

11/3/2014

I have shared about ThingLink in the past - a free creation tool that allows the user to embed links into an image of his or her choosing. It is an easy to use tool for students, even at the elementary level. Students can create thinglinks that take their viewers to more in-depth information in unlimited ways:

a travel brochure
animal research project
biography
book report
global issues
food chain

After using it for more than a year, it dawned on me that it can also be used for flipped learning. Instead of giving students a list of web links to navigate for homework or a video to watch, create a thinglink with relevant content links to explore. (This works especially well if you are about to teach students how to create with thinglink. Assign one for homework that tells them about thinglink! Here's an example.) Varying flipped instruction adds a bit of novelty that many students need to stay engaged.

Dedicated Teacher at Work!

10/20/2014

Recently, I had the chance to visit a co-taught biology class at a Colorado high school. Many of the students at the school are English Language Learners, and the district is committed to supporting them by having ELL specialists co-teach the major subject area classes.

When I walked in the room, the ELL specialist turned toward me and this is what I saw. She had a piece of paper clipped to her shirt as she moved around the room. On the paper she had quickly illustrated a language concept (few, some, many and most) that was critical to the biology lesson. I was excited by how simple the idea was, but even more excited by her dedication to doing whatever it takes to help students succeed. What an easy and effective idea.

Bravo!

Green Screen Success

10/13/2014

Over the summer I shared with you my initial attempts at using a green screen and the Green Screen by DoInk iPad app. Now that school is in full swing, we had a chance to have students use it.

The 5th graders at Tarver Elementary school produce a daily news announcement that is broadcast in every classroom. It includes the typical school info - weather, lunch menu, special activities and the Pledge of Allegiance. This week students produced their video broadcast using a green screen. Here is their very first effort - I can't wait to see what they are able to do with it as they gain experience!